Brian Krebs has always been a trailblazer among security reporters. His exposés completely shut down a California hosting service that coddled spammers and child pornographers and severely disrupted an organized crime syndicate known as Russian Business Network. More recently, his investigative journalism has followed the money to the people who sell malware exploit kits, illicitly procured credit reports, and denial-of-service services in underground forums.

Now, Krebs has achieved a decidedly more grim distinction. On Thursday,
he became one of the first journalists to be on the receiving end of a
vicious hoax that prompted a raid on his Northern Virginia home by a
swarm of heavily armed police officers.